I am Scott Howards sister, this has been a rough 32 years for all of us. Scott turned himself in when my daughter was 3 months old, she will be 32 in October. We have kept Scott in our family lives through out the years, he has painted fun pictures for them when my kids were young, now those pictures are in they're kids bedrooms.
I have watched the toll this has made on my parents, it is heartbreaking, We all have tried to be positive that Scott would be home by now. I feel this has been so unfair to Scott when the other two involved have been paroled already, one man has been paroled twice! Where is the fairness in that when they got the same sentence as Scott! Scott was nieve when he hooked up with the bikers, they promised the brother hood would be there for ever! When we are young we make decisions in our life that we do not think of any consequences from those decisions. Scott has payed the price for his choices and has tried to make whatever life he has in prison the best he could. He regrets his actions and has payed his dues in prison. I made stupid decisions in my life, I have learned from those and improved upon them. That was 33 years ago, Think about where you were 33 years ago and how much your life has changed. I'm not excusing what happened but know that my brother lives everyday in regret for the choices he has made. Scott deserves the chance to prove that in his remaining life!
As a family unit we have given his daughter and his grandson support and love to help to fill the void from Scott's absence. His daughter was so young when this all happened it has been hard to understand for her. Hard for her to accept. She has suffered emotionally from the loss of her dad. It has been hard for me to watch the years go by without Scott present in our family. My parents have worked hard to help Scott and his daughter and now his grandson with they're lives. My parents grieve everyday that they may not ever see Scott free, they have suffered and mourned through the years. I have watched the toll this has taken on they're lives, financially and emotionally.
Every holiday is incomplete, not only does the prisoner suffer but the family suffers. I know that is part of the prison sentence any one gets is they're family suffers too! As we all have aged and experienced life we have seen many problems in the prison system, too long of sentence, the way most prisoners are treated in the system and there is no rehabilitation in the system. Scott has been involved in many classes to help to be paroled. He has volunteered to make patterns and sew costumes for the Wisconsin museum. He has done work to improve cells for handicapped in the prison in Florida. He learned to work on fixing sewing machines in Wisconsin that no one else knew how to do. That even saved money for the state of Wisconsin!
We have been proud of the work Scott has done over the years, he has worked on proving himself to be trusted and released from prison. Everybody deserves a chance to prove themselves, Scott deserves a chance. Please help us!
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Sincerely, Lone Schmidt

From his Parents:
July 20, 2015
To whom it may concern,
We are writing to you about our son, Scott Howard and how his imprisonment has affected us and our family over the last 32 years he has been in prison.
We have always been a close, loving family and as his parents we have suffered great loss, deep painful loss and Scott's absence has been very difficult for us to accept and we miss him every day. We are at an age we need our son's help around our house. Both of us had heart surgery 2 years ago and have not been able to travel back to Wisconsin to visit him. We are 86 years of age and need more help in getting around. Scott has no one close enough to visit him, which is heart breaking for him to be so alone.
We raised his daughter who is 40 now, we have watched how the absence of her father has greatly affected her life. Her mother was not present in her life either. As a family unit we gave her a good family life. She was affected emotionally. She went through her share of problems; her son, Scott's grandson, has a dysfunctional mental problem and would benefit from his grandfathers help.
We long for Scott to come home and be with us, we are afraid we wont be able to see him free! He needs the opportunity to have some form of a normal life! He deserves the chance to prove himself!
We look forward to his phone calls each week, they helps us keep up with his activities. Scott is very talented and creative, and over the years he has sent home the wonderful paintings and cards he makes for us and the family. He has done leather crafts that we all have enjoyed over the years. Scott also crochets beautiful doilies, scarves, hats and table cloths and many other items that his daughter, niece and nephews, grand kids, brother and sister have all enjoyed over the years. Scott likes to be busy and he likes to help others, he taught another inmate how to read.
Scott has skills that will help him to earn a living such as reupholstering furniture and such. He has also worked in construction, he helped his dad build one of the houses we lived in and raised his daughter in. We have a big house with a functional wood working shop with room for his activities. We have plenty of room for him to live here in hopes he can help us with chores that are a hardship for us now.
Scott would benefit from being able to to enjoy our family activities, holidays and birthdays. Scott should have been paroled years ago! Scott has been a good prisoner, he stays out of trouble, not getting involved with trouble makers, he keeps to himself, it is heartbreaking to think of his lonely existence.
Having Scott home would breach the void his absence has created. He has grown to be a caring man and cares deeply for his family. Scott needs the opportunity to fill the void his daughter and grandson have in their lives as in all of our lives.
Sincerely,
George and Betty Howard

This blog is a companion to our Parole web page. Wisconsin has 2887 prisoners who are eligible for parole but are denied year after year. We are part of a campaign to see that these people get a second chance. They are all long past their parole dates. We want to spread the message loud and clear that people DO Change. Below are some of the stories and profiles of the many people stuck in a broken and wasteful system.